1957 in Canada - Definition and Overview

See also: 1956 in Canada, other events of 1957, 1958 in Canada and the Timeline of Canadian history.

Incumbents

• Prime Minister - Louis Saint Laurent then John Diefenbaker
• Governor General - Vincent Massey

• Premier of Alberta - Ernest Manning
• Premier of British Columbia - W.A.C. Bennett
• Premier of Manitoba - Douglas Campbell
• Premier of New Brunswick - Hugh John Flemming
• Premier of Newfoundland - Joey Smallwood
• Premier of Nova Scotia - Robert Stanfield
• Premier of Ontario - Leslie Frost
• Premier of Prince Edward Island - Alex Matheson
• Premier of Quebec - Maurice Duplessis
• Premier of Saskatchewan - Tommy Douglas

Events

• January 1 - The first Canadian peackeepers arrive in Egypt after the Suez Crisis
• January 17 - The HMCS Bonaventure, Canada's only aircraft carrier, is commissioned
• March 6 - Quebec's Padlock Law is ruled unconstitutional
• March 20 - The seven month long Murdochville Strike begins
• March 28 - The Canada Council is established
• June 10 - Federal election: John Diefenbaker's PCs win a minority, defeating Louis Saint Laurent's Liberals
• June 21 - John Diefenbaker becomes prime minister, replacing Louis Saint Laurent
• July 31 - The DEW Line begins operation
• September 12 - Canada and the United States sign the NORAD agreement
• October 4 - The first prototype Avro Arrow is presented to the media
• October 12 - Foreign Minister Lester B. Pearson wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Suez Crisis
• October 14 - Queen Elizabeth II opens the Canadian parliament, the first monarch to do so
• November 22 - The St. Lawrence Seaway opens
• Thanksgiving is moved to its current date

Arts and literature

New Works

• Mordecai Richler - A Choice of Enemies
• W.L. Morton - Manitoba: The Birth of a Province
• Farley Mowat - The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
• Northrop Frye - Anatomy of Criticism

Awards

• See 1957 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Stephen Leacock Award: Robert Thomas Allen The Grass Is Never Greener

Television

• Front Page Challenge premiers on CBC

Births

• January 22 - Mike Bossy, hockey player
• February 17 - Loreena McKennitt, singer
• March 10 - Shannon Tweed, actor
• April 29 - Leona Dombrowsky, politician
• May 4 - Kathy Kreiner, skier
• May 14 - Gilles Bisson, politician
• July 2 - Bret Hart, wrestler
• August 15 - David L. Anderson, politician
• August 20 - Cindy Nicholas, swimmer
• August 23 - Georges Farrah, politician
• August 26 - Rick Hansen, wheelchair athlete
• September 8 - Tony Valeri, politician
• October 27 - Glen Murray, politician
• October 30 - Joseph Cordiano, politician
• November 30 - Colin Mochrie, comedian
• December 12 - Robert Lepage, playwright
• Glen Clark, Premier of British Columbia

Deaths

• June 27 - Malcolm Lowry, writer
• October 29 - Louis B. Mayer, film maker